* Third-quarter GDP forecast expanding at a 2.5 percent rate
* Consumer spending seen increasing solidly; exports rising
* Modest rebound in inventory, business investment expected
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth likely accelerated in the third quarter as consumers maintained a strong pace of spending and exports surged, potentially keeping the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates in December.
Gross domestic product probably increased at a 2.5 percent annual rate after expanding at a 1.4 percent pace in the second quarter, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would be the strongest growth rate since the second quarter of 2015.
In addition to support from consumer spending and exports, the economy is also expected to have received a boost from a rebound in mining activity and inventory investment.
"As long as you have consumer spending, some stabilization of capital spending, trade kicking in and inventories switching from being a significant drag, that balanced composition will make us confident that things are moving in the right direction," said Anthony Karydakis, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak in New York.
But GDP growth could surprise on the upside after data on Wednesday showed a sharp drop in the goods trade deficit in September. The government will publish its first estimate of third-quarter GDP on Friday at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).
If growth meet expectations, it should help dispel any lingering fears the economy was at risk of stalling. Over the first half of the year, growth had averaged just 1.1 percent.
Though the Fed is mostly focused on employment and inflation, signs of economic strength would be supportive of an interest rate hike in December. The U.S. central bank raised its benchmark overnight interest rate last December for the first time in nearly a decade.
CONSUMERS SHINING STAR
Consumer spending likely continued to power the economy in the third quarter, even as the pace slowed from the second quarter's robust 4.3 percent rate. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is expected to have increased by as much as a 2.8 percent rate.
"The consumer is the shining star of the economy," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "Fundamentals support consumer spending going forward. Household balance sheets are in good shape, job growth is solid and wage growth is accelerating."
A surge in soybean exports likely helped to shrink the trade deficit in the third quarter. As a result, economists expect that trade contributed a full percentage point to GDP growth in the third quarter after adding a mere 0.18 percentage point in the April-June quarter.